Club Information Bureau Reversal acquittal in Coinhive case Significant ruling for site operator-Club Information Bureau

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Today, we would like to introduce a popular article from the ASCII Club, "Coinhive Incident: Reversal Not Guilty, Significant Judgment for Site Operator".

Picture is an image Kaitlyn Baker

Illegal site using the web service "Coinhive" that uses the processing power of the computer of the person who browses the website without consent to perform mining to obtain virtual currency (cryptographic calculation) In a criminal trial in which sex was contested, the innocence of a web designer who was indicted on the crime of illegal command electromagnetic record keeping (commonly known as the virus crime) was decided.

　On January 20, 2022, the First Petty Bench of the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Tokyo High Court in the second instance.

　This Supreme Court ruling has great significance for those who transmit information on the Internet.

　It will be long, but I will quote it.

``The mechanism for website operators to gain profits through browsing is important for the distribution of information through websites.''

"Compared with the advertisement display program, there is no significant difference in the function of the viewer's computer and the impact on the information processing by the computer, and it is executed without obtaining prior consent and during viewing The same applies to usage methods such as using the viewer's computer to a certain extent, and these points can be said to be within the socially acceptable range.

　Many sites rely on advertising revenue, but Coinhive, which lets viewers' PCs perform mining, has been attracting attention for a while as it has the potential to become an alternative revenue source to advertising.

　Programs like Coinhive are also called mining scripts. The Supreme Court's ruling that it is "socially acceptable" as a mechanism to profit from websites may pave the way for the use of mining scripts and similar technologies in the future.

Making profits for site operators through mining

　Reliability is ensured in cryptocurrency transactions by providing computing power to computers around the world through the Internet and performing complex calculations. there is

　Virtual currency will be sent as a reward for the computing power provided. This work is called "mining".

　Coinhive is a web service that uses this mechanism.

　Browsing a site with a script installed, part of the computing power of the viewer's computer is automatically provided for the calculations necessary for mining the virtual currency MONERO. Part of the reward obtained from mining is paid to the operator of the site.

　The defendant's web designer implemented Coinhive on a site that shared information about Vocaloid.

Unintentional but not fraudulent

　The Supreme Court decision on the 20th determined that the user's intention The judgment criteria were whether it was contrary to the intention (anti-intentionality) and whether the contents of the program were fraudulent (fraudulence).

　The Supreme Court acknowledged that the program to execute mining was against the user's intention.

　He pointed out that there was no explanation about mining in advance, and that there was no specification for obtaining user consent in advance for the execution of the mining script. The ruling criticized that "from the viewpoint of trust in the program, a more appropriate method of use could have been adopted."

　However, regarding the Coinhive installed by the defendant, it was also certified that the load was not enough for users to notice changes in processing speed.

On the other hand, regarding whether the contents of the program were fraudulent, he denied the fraud, saying, "It cannot be said that it is socially unacceptable."

　Users who browse news sites, blogs, etc. will also see advertisements at the same time, but in terms of the impact on processing, comparing the program that displays advertisements and Coinhive, "No significant difference was observed. '' he pointed out.

Is prior consent and light processing the key?

　Continue reading "Coinhive Incident Reversal Not Guilty Significant Judgment for Site Operator" Please enjoy.

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